Circulating plunger pump



E y U\NGER PUMP Filed Dec. 2,

` "W, M. MCGEE CIRCULATING PL @JNM ` V 744 Je@ Jan. 5 14926.y

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Filed Dec. 2, 1924 W M MCGEE CIRCULATING PLUNGR PUMP Patented dan. 5, 1926.

a irse STATES lvvinteiuiivi M. Meden, on SANTA Monica, onmronma.

CIRCULA'I'NG: PLUNGER PUMP.

Application filed December 2, 1924.. Serial No. 753,440.

To all uhom 'it may concern.'

Be it known-that I, TWILLIAM M: McGee,

' a citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Monica, iii the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have. invented new and useful improvements in Circulating Plunger Pumps, of which the following is a specilication.

My invention relates principally to circulating pumps for use in oil or otherwells which are'liable to becoine'clogged or packed with sand or. Sediment.

My invention compreheiuls the use of a packer or equivalent dwicc between the vWell 'casing and. an interior conduit which may carry oil or other fluid anda series of valves in the packer by which clear iiuid may be forced from the. exterior of the packer into the conduit and thereby wash out the clogging sand and sediment.

ln its broad aspect my invention conipiises ai method or process for operating wells which are liable to .become clogged. ril`his method includes the forcing of a clear iiuid'down `the outside of astring of pipes and through a specially designed packer to a conduit which leads to the pipe string and to the pump. In this manner both the pipe string vand the pump can he iiushed of any clogging material. l

My invention also coinpreliends by Lise of :i similar packer a n'iethod of cementing' up wells. l n this rase the cement is passed down through the pipes through which fluid is orilinarily7 pumped up, and is ejected below the packer to the desiredpart of the well. y rFliese pipes frequently become clogged with cement. In this case by our method we force a clear fluid such'as water from a passage outside of the cement carrying pipes through the packervand into the pipes, thereA by flushing out the. cement.

ln detail my packer comprises a body poi'- tiou of somewhat cylindrical shape with a ,reduced upper end and a conduit through the center. By suitable packing rings or packingI leathers this lits tight 'in a casing or other pipe. One or more check valves ai'einsertiul so as to forni ducts from the outside of the packer to the con-duit. A string` of pipes may be attached to the upper end f the conduit. leading to the nip of the Well and a barrel and pum-p attached to the bottom. 1f the pipes or pump become clogged with sand a clear fluid can be forced down the outside of the pipes and through the check valve into the conduit, thereby flushing the pipes and the pump.

ln using my appliance for cementing up wells,` the pump is disconnected andtlie cement passed downwardly through the pipe string and through the packer conduit.'

When the cementing is linished or the pipe clogs, water may be forced down the outside of the pipe and through the check valve into the conduit, thereby flushing out the cement.

My invention will be more clearly understood from the following specification and accompanying drawings, in whichum Figure l is a vertical section of a circulating plunger pump Working in combination With my packer.

Fig. lA illustrates the lower part of a plunger pump.

Fig. 2 is a cross'section of Fig. l or Fig.

3 on the lines 2-2. indicating the checkV vplves in the packer. v

Fig. VS is a vertical section of my packer and special valve for use in ceinenting wells. Fig. 4 is a section of the packer on the. line limsi of Fig. 2 illustrating the 'construction of the check valves.

Referring to the drawings, in Figs. l

and lA'is illustrated a pipe string A., my improved packer B, a pump working barrel' (l, a pump liner D, and a plunger pump Fi operating therein. plunger pump is rcciprocated by the rod F. The Working barrel isshown connected to thelower end of my packer by an interior nipple G and an eXtei-iorcoupling H. The Whole device is illustrated as inserted in a well casing I.

All of .the parts above enumerated, eX- cep-t.,iny 'paclierl are old and well known in the art./'l

In the preferred construction of my packer a cylindrical body l is formed with a reduced upper portion 2" and sloped shoulders 3 connecting the outer diameter with the innei' diameter. A neck l extends from the lower end of the main body and is screw threaded on the outside as indicated by 5.

Screw threads 6 may be used to engage an Cil leathers if desired. The packing ring or washer 9 bears against the leathers. The leathers Tand packing rings 8 are wedged tightly by the mit l0. operating on the screw threads 5. A conduit 11 leads completely through the packerI from the top to the bottom and the pipe string A may be secured thereto by interior threads 12 as indicated or exterior threads it desired.

ln `the body of the packer between the shoulders 3 and the conduit 1l are check valves l5 being shown as three -in number. These valves are preferably constructed with a central duct 16 and outside ducts 17 leadingr from the conduit to' a ball chamber 1S. lii this chamber is a spring seat 19 the inner end of the ducts. The wall ot' the chamber is screw threaded as indicated at 20 and has a valve cage 2l screwed therein. rlhe valve preferably has a central aperture 22 with a port 23 formed by the lball Seat 2t. Arms 25 extend into the ball chamber i8 and retain the ball QG in position. This bell is pressed by the spring?!1 bearing on the scat i9 to normally close the port 23.

" The method of pumping with a circulating plunger pump by the utilization of my packer is as follows:

The pumping action is carried on by the .reciprocating rod F which operates the plunger pump E in the ordinary manner. If oil which is heavy with' sand or other duid which is heavy with sediment is pumped, there are times in which both the pump and the pipe string will probably become clogged. rlhe *pressure of the pump ing causes the balls in the check valves 15 to be pressed outwardly and therebyall the fluid pumped is forced upward through the pipe string. lfv'hen cloggingtakes place. a clear fluid such asclear oil or water is forced downwardl)v between the pipe stringT and the casing and around the reduced portion 2 of the packer. Suiicient pressure is used to force the valves o the check valves 1.5 iii wai'dly and thereby allow flow of fluid from the outside passage to the conduit through the packer. I This clear fluid will follow the path of least resistance. If the pump is packed tight it will flow upward through the pipe string. After thepipe string` has been' cleared it is Amerely necessary to shut oil this flow when the clear oil will be forced downwardly through the pluiiger pump and flush out the sand and sediment. Should the oil tiow downthrough the pump instead of u through the pipe strinf. which in this` case -would lie-clogged tiglitest, the pumping' action would beistopped so that the clear oil will meet the. resistance ot the pump valves and thereby force the sand out of the pipe string.

When it is desired to cement4 up a Well,

r the packer B ofthe same construction as y.connected to the lower end of the conduit` a necesa? above described has a ccineiiting valve illustrated as `lastenedcn the screw threads 5 by means of a collar 36 having an. interior screw threaded portion -37. The collar supports a cage 38 having apertures 39 and preterably a closed bottom end 10. Between the bottoni ot' the packer and the sleeve it is preterable to use a beveled valve seat Atl which engages the neck 42 ot the collar 3G and is firmly held in place. A hollow ball 43 is inserted in the cement valve. A cavity J is indicated at the lower portion or' Fig. 3, which it is desired to cement up.

The method of ceiiienting a well` by the utilization of my packer is as follows:

T he cement is forced downwardly through the pipe string: und conduit ll through the packer and out through the ceiiienting valve 35. lVheii the cement rises in the cavity J as it is in the forni of a grout it forces Itliebuoyant ball 43 upward against the seat el and closes the port. Therefore no more cement can be forced downwardly. In order to clear the pipestrng of cement, water is. forced down the passage surrounding the pipe striiipT and the casing and through the check valves l5 into the conduitJ ll, thence washing.Y the. cement out of the pipe string. ll'heii the packer is pulled upward the water flushes out the ceinentir'ipr valve 35.

By the use of my packer in coinciding, a cavity can be cemented up iii different stages, that is, the packer with the ceineiitiiig valve can he lifted and flushcd'out and then the cenieiiting:T operation continued at :i 'higher level.

lt will be understood'that it is not necessary that niv-packer lit the well casing suf- Ficientlv tight topi-event its being removed. lt merely required a fit whichvwill allow suflicient pressure on a fluid in the passage to torce the fluid through the check valves. The amount that leaks past the packer is niorc or less immaterial.

llvhile I have shown my packer of a specic shape. it could be altered. The packer could be inserted through pipes which do not perfoiiii the function of a well Casing. Other uses besides pumping and cementing may also be found for the packe rlhis pump may be used with a packer onwzthout.

Various changes may be made without depai-tin;r from the .sp'irit of the invention as claimed.

l claim:

l. A circulating plunger pump having in combination a packer with a reduced upper outer end,'a conduit through the packer, a pipe string attached to the upper ond of the conduit and having a passage on the outside rthereof above the packer. a working barrel pipe plunger operating;y through the conduit, check valves iii the body of the packer between tlie passage and conduit, and seats in said valves allowing fluid to be forced from :i valve at the lower endl` and means to force the passage to the conduit, but not vice versa. iiuid through the passage, check valve, con- 2. The combination with a packer having duit and valve, thereby Hushing the valve. 10 H n conduit therethrough and a check valve in In testimony whereof I have signed my 5 the packer connecting the conduit 'to `a pasname to this specification.

sage above and outside the lpacker, of a pipe 4string connected to the upper end thereof, WILLIAM M. MCGEE. 

